The same course, different access: the digital divide between urban and rural distance education students in South Africa
Summary. Rural and urban students in South Africa experience vastly different access to distance education because of unequal ICT infrastructure. While open distance learning institutions can expand higher education access to marginalized communities, poor internet connectivity in rural and peri-urban areas severely limits students' ability to engage with online coursework. The digital divide directly determines educational outcomes regardless of institutional intent.
Cite this article
Lembani, R., Gunter, A., Breines, M. R., & Dalu, M. T. B.. (2019). The same course, different access: the digital divide between urban and rural distance education students in South Africa. Journal of Geography in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2019.1694876
Lembani, Reuben, et al. “The same course, different access: the digital divide between urban and rural distance education students in South Africa.” Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2019.1694876.
Lembani, Reuben, Ashley Gunter, Markus Roos Breines, and Mwazvita T. B. Dalu. 2019. “The same course, different access: the digital divide between urban and rural distance education students in South Africa.” Journal of Geography in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2019.1694876.
@article{lembani-2019-same-course-different-access-digital,
title = {The same course, different access: the digital divide between urban and rural distance education students in South Africa},
author = {Reuben Lembani and Ashley Gunter and Markus Roos Breines and Mwazvita T. B. Dalu},
journal = {Journal of Geography in Higher Education},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1080/03098265.2019.1694876},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2019.1694876}
}
TY - JOUR TI - The same course, different access: the digital divide between urban and rural distance education students in South Africa AU - Reuben Lembani AU - Ashley Gunter AU - Markus Roos Breines AU - Mwazvita T. B. Dalu JO - Journal of Geography in Higher Education PY - 2019 DO - 10.1080/03098265.2019.1694876 UR - https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2019.1694876 ER -
Details
- DOI
- 10.1080/03098265.2019.1694876
- Countries
- South Africa
- Regions
- Africa
- Categories
- broadband-and-digital, education, rural-data-and-definitions
- Added
- 2026-04-28